righteous ideals flamed

the hearts of ancient saints, I

follow their footsteps

My husband and I are back in the states and home once again. The flight from Tel Aviv to Frankfurt to the states was uneventful. Just the kind you want! We are exhausted from a very full two weeks of traveling, connecting, enjoying the cultures and cuisine of other countries, and a very long flight home.

And I am happy to think about the fact that I don’t need to travel internationally again until September. My husband… his is another story. He leaves again in just three weeks for Ukraine.

The above photo is some of the ancient Byzantine mosaic work in the Catholic Church at the convent on Kiriath Jearim, Israel. When the Catholics, Sisters of St. Joseph’s Apparition, became the keepers of the property and turned it into a convent, they built the church around the old foundations. Several patches of mosaic work have been preserved and exposed around the altar.

I have always loved the art of mosaics. It is so intriguing, the idea of breaking the stones into small pieces, mortaring them together into a picture. And it is a dying art. Few have the skill and patience needed to craft mosaics today.

If I close my eyes I can see the ancient monks’s robes swaying across the tiny, artistic tiles or their thick, tanned hands as they created the patterns in the first place. The passion that ignited their hearts to righteousness flames in my heart as well. I felt their fire in this sacred place. So much history echoes from this beautiful place.

Well, I am trying to stay awake for a few more hours, so hopefully, I will sleep through the night… my first night in my own wonderful bed at home. I will close my eyes and see mosaics and Byzantine monks and Catholic nuns… and many other things we experienced… as I drift off under the new, yellow moon of May. 

My heart is full, and I am awash in gratitude.